August 02, 2004

Timber Conservaton-Microsoft Trumps Greenpeace

The above link and others-here and here-suggest that the Bush administration is the enemy of conservation and that it is in the employ of the timber industry who are persuing their pecuniary goals at the expense of the common good. I have heard the meme lately on more than one occasion-well I'm voting for Kerry because Bush is letting them clear the virgin forests. I try to walk them through other issues: national defense,gun control, affirmative action,school vouchers and even make the case that abortion might not contribute to the overall dignity of mankind,but this forest issue has gotten more traction than it deserves. I try to point out that"trees grow back" and that in a few lifetimes the replanted groves will be virgin again but to no avail. I point out that people must live in houses -where is the wood supposed to come from- I finally in frustration asked one liberal friend if he planned on basing his vote for president on the basis of "horticultural husbandry"
Ypu know who has done more for forest preservation than all the Greenpeace's of the world-Microsoft-that's right-the paperless office-predicted in the nineties is largely here. After an initial increase in paper usage because of all the easy to obtain iformation from the Internet-users have become more comfortable with dealing with all data electronically-from filing forms-to correcting drafts of documents, to using cheaply or free publically accessed archives-(SEC,technical journals,newspapers)-without the profit motive to spur these developments conservation would lag temendously.

The next frontier-genetically engineered trees to regrow faster-take that Greenies